On the surface a modernized version of Dante's 14th-century poetic tour of hell—performed with cutout stick puppets against miniature sets—sounds like it might be amusing, at the least. Unfortunately, any sense of wit is sorely lacking here. In filmmaker Sean Meredith's version, Dante is a contemporary slacker who awakens in the street after getting fall-down drunk one night, and is confronted by the Roman poet Virgil, who conducts him through the circles of the damned, where they encounter a curious mixture of historical figures from the original epic poem (such as “bad popes” being punished for simony) as well as more recent malefactors. The targets here are obvious—religious leaders who fleece their flocks, corrupt politicians who lie and line their pockets, etc.—while the dialogue is banal, defeating the efforts of the strong voice talent (including Dermot Mulroney as Dante, and James Cromwell as Virgil) to bring it to life. At one point, the pair stop to take in a puppet show themselves, which prompts Virgil to exclaim, “I hate puppets!” It's a sentiment that viewers of Dante's Inferno might well come to embrace long before the 78-minute running time is up. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)
Dante's Inferno
TLA, 78 min., not rated, DVD: $19.99, Aug. 26 Volume 23, Issue 5
Dante's Inferno
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